Heart of Ice
by Paillette
Summary: Cloud is cursed to a life of pain until he confesses the truth of his frozen heart... Complete! Please review!
1. Chapter One

**Author's Note**: Let's say that this takes place a little while after the fall of Meteor, assuming that everyone's okay and that AVALANCHE still gets together for a little do-gooding.

**Disclaimer**: I did not create/publish/sell _Final Fantasy VII_, its characters, locations, plots, etc. It all belongs to Squaresoft.

- - -

Heart Of Ice

Chapter One

- - -

Cloud Strife was having some difficulty remembering exactly what he was doing crawling around on this Ifrit-forsaken frozen block of ice again when he wasn't even sure if he still had fingers and toes.

True, he had come back to Gaza Glacier a bit more prepared this time, dressed in a thick, fur-lined parka and equipped with plenty of fire materia, but that didn't mean that it wasn't still damned cold.

With the trusty Buster Sword strapped onto his back, Cloud shook his head at his bitter thoughts and kept trudging through the snow drifts.

- -

Tifa Lockheart stood in front of the frosted window with her back to the blazing flames of the fireplace and her bottom lip firmly bitten in her patented worry-frown.

It shouldn't be taking this long, should it? Tifa thought to herself as she stared into the white haze of the blizzard just beyond the window pane.

"Look, Tifa, I'm sure Spike is just fine," called a rumbling baritone from the next room. Barret was sitting at a small wooden table with a steaming mug held between his giant hands. From his position near the doorway, he watched the fretful woman and easily interpreted her stance. Barret was as aware of Cloud and Tifa's attraction to one another as they were oblivious to it. It was frustrating, holding his tongue and refraining from just locking them in a room together until they admitted their feelings, but he settled for just rolling his eyes and toasting the shadow in the corner.

The shadow flickered a bit, raising his own mug in a salute to the man sitting across from him before lifting it to the folds of his cape and presumably taking a sip. It was a trifling matter to Vincent whether or not these two foolish young people realized that their destinies lay together. He had long since lost interest in the whimsical fantasies of love and life.

Instead, he casually leaned in the corner near the fireplace, shrouded in his concealing mantle of shadows which allowed no feature to escape the darkness save his piercing red eyes. Barret shuddered a little at the sight of those eyes glaring through the steam rising from Vincent's mug, and briefly wondered whether or not Vincent's eyes did anything but glare. He chuckled to himself, deciding that the glare could indeed change from "pissed" to "even more pissed."

Vincent surveyed the scene of the giant, giggling man squatting at the tiny, rickety table before him. He allowed himself a small smile, securely hidden beneath the folds of his cloak. Foolish though his fellow AVALANCHE members may be (including the ones who tramped around outside during a blizzard), he was still glad to have them.

Meanwhile, Tifa unconsciously sighed from her post at the window. She was hardly aware of herself standing there, let alone the two men in the other room. Her thoughts were with one man in particular, one man who was struggling through this blizzard as he had all other hardships in his life.

She shook her head and wrapped her arms tighter around herself. She would get no sleep tonight.

- -

Cloud grunted with frustration as he heaved his frozen and numb body onto the next ledge, where he rolled over and lay with his face in the snow.

Damn, damn, damn, damn, he chanted to himself. Why did he have to do this, anyway? Oh yeah, that "virginal-youth-will-deliver-the-village-from-the-curse-of-the-Ice-Goddess" crap. Damn that village prophet for being so cliche; damn that Yuffie for being such a ho that she couldn't qualify; and most of all, damn him for not getting laid years ago...

Cloud groaned as he heaved himself back to his feet. It was either him or Tifa, as was revealed in the group discussion on how to liberate the tiny town of Icicle Inn from the wrath of the so-called "Snow Queen," or whatever it was.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Barret had bellowed after Cloud's mumbled confession.

"How the hell old are you, Spike?" he continued, tears or mirth beginning to roll down his cheeks. "21? 22?" An' you _still_ ain't never..."

"Barret!" Tifa had interjected, her own cheeks still flushing after her own declaration. "Some people have _morals_ and understand the _dignity_ of waiting... Oh, don't you-" Tifa had just caught Yuffie doubling over in giggles and trying to hide behind Cid, who was wearing his smug "I'm-so-much-older-and-more-knowing-than-you" look.

"Well?" She continued in her tirade as Cloud watched her warily, completely familiar with Tifa's "expressiveness" and ready to pull her off of some woeful victim if she let loose a few punches.

"What are you laughing at? It's nothing to be ashamed of!" Tifa stood, hands on her hips, glaring down at the man who was rolling around on the floor in fits of laughter. A swift kick to the ribs turned the howls of laughter to howls of pain, and she sent her warning glare to the rest of the AVALANCHE team members who were fighting to stifle their laughter.

If the truth be known, Cloud would have much rather opted for a scene with less emphasis, but he was grateful to Tifa anyway. Growing up in the same village had bred in them similar ideals, and marriage before sex was one of them. Still, to have his whole team aware of his... "inexperience." It dealt a cruel blow to his ego.

Half grinning at the mental image of the incensed Tifa Lockheart, Cloud continued his trek to the summit. Supposedly, his battle with this Snow Witch thing would relieve the snow-crushed town of this relentless blizzard, but all that he really cared about right now was getting back to that fireplace in the cabin.

He finally stumbled to a halt in front of a cave opening at the top of the mountian. The freezing wind whipped all around him, creating an eerie whistling tune as he peered into the darkness of the cave. Raising one hand to grasp the hilt of his Buster Sword, Cloud strode determinedly into the cave.

His determined stride quickly reduced to a cautious step as he wandered deeper into the dark cave. An odd trick of the light playing on the icicles hanging from the ceiling created the image of elegant chandeliers hanging from the ceiling of an ice palace. The walls were solid sheets of frozen water, and Cloud could even see his own reflection on their surfaces. Carefully making his way through the maze of ice, Cloud tensed himself for a sudden battle.

The cave wall took a sudden turn, forcing Cloud to make a vulnerable step into the next area. Immediately, he stopped. Some thirty feet in front of him, crouched in the darkest corner of the cave, was a lone human figure. It was covered in a deep blue robe from head to toe and a thick, wooly cap was concealing its features.

Although he didn't move a muscle while observing this creature, it rose slowly from its position near the floor. It stood, perhaps staring silently at him. Cloud narrowed his eyes, evaluating the situation. He had the entrance, the creature had its back to the wall. It appeared small and fragile, while he had the strong, agile build of a skilled swordsman. It was undoubtably an ice creature, given its surroundings, and he was ready with the fire. A slight smirk drifted to the corner of his mouth.

"FIRE THREE!" he shouted.

The words had not even fully left his lips when an ear-splitting shriek filled the cavern. Cloud dropped his hands from the spell casting position and instead clapped them to his ears as the screaming went on. Icicles fell from the ceiling, extinguishing their magical light and plunging the cavern in total darkness.


	2. Chapter Two

- - -

Heart Of Ice

Chapter Two

- - -

Tifa was pacing in front of the fireplace now, fingernails at the mercy of her nervous teeth as the hours wore on. Barret could not sleep with all her nervous movements and instead slowly pounded his head on the surface of the table, attempting manual unconsciousness. It wasn't that he didn't care about Tifa's feelings or Spike's situation, but he was tired, dammit, and all this worrying was not improving the situation.

"Dammit, Teef, now get some sleep!" he exclaimed, but not without a gruff, fatherly softness in his voice. Vincent silently dozed in his corner, chin dropped to his chest where his arms were folded. Unconcerned as usual, but confident that Cloud would either triumph or fail miserably, he agreed with Barret about there being no need for fretting the inevitable.

Tifa paced on, hearing nothing but the howling of the blizzard outside.

I should have gone, she kept thinking. But no, he had to be so stubborn...

"Teef, let me handle it," he had said earlier that morning, when the wind was only carrying soft gusts of snowflakes. "I'll be there and back again before you know it."

"Are you insinuating that I'm slow, Cloud Strife?" she had said, playfully poking him in the ribs. "Because I could beat you up a mountain side any day. Must I remind you of that fateful Nibelheim Spring Festival? Just who was it that won first place, totally dusting you in three minutes flat?" She grinned at the memory of him sulking when she claimed the title "Queen of the Mountain" for the fourth year running.

"That's not the point. It's too--"

"Dangerous," she finished, knowing his patented line. "I know. Why do you think that I'm having this argument with you? I don't want you risking yourself any more than you want me..."

"Tifa," he said firmly, his hands squeezing her shoulders as he stared at her seriously. "You know that I don't doubt your abilities, but letting you go up that mountain alone would be like watching you fall off of that cliff all over again..."

Tifa looked away, more ashamed at the memory of the blame that had been unfairly placed on Cloud after the incident than at her own clumsiness.

Cloud's eyes softened at her expression. He didn't want to bring up bad memories, but he just couldn't explain how much this meant to him in any other way.

"Teef, don't worry about that anymore," he continued. "I know that you'd scale that mountain in half the time it would take me, but I have more combat experience than– oh, no you don't–" he had said as she opened her mouth wide to protest. "I _will_ take care of this, and if you refuse to agree with me, then I'm going to have Yuffie tie you to a chair and have Vincent keep watch over you."

Tifa stamped her foot, childishly, she knew, but old habits died hard. It was like they were seven years old again.

"Cloud! You can not just _tell _me to let you just go up that glacier alone and be all right with it!" she shouted.

She stood glowering up at him while he grinned goofily back. In one fell swoop, Tifa was upended over Cloud's shoulder as he carried her through the cabin like a sack of grain. She screamed and protested, pounding her fists on his back as he laughed at her, throwing her onto the bed and running from the room, locking the door behind him.

"CLOUD STRIFE!" she yelled, pounding on the offending wooden door. "YOU HAD BETTER OPEN THIS DAMNED DOOR RIGHT THIS INSTANT OR SO HELP ME I'LL--"

Cloud chuckled to himself from the other end and tossed the key to Vincent. "Don't let her out of there until I've had a fair head start," he warned.

"As if you were playing fair to begin with..." Vincent muttered.

Cloud blithely ignored that last comment, picked up his journey pack, and slammed the door of the cabin closed behind him.

Twelve hours later, anger had been replaced with worry and even a slight panic as Tifa inwardly cursed herself. Why did she have to be so weak? Why did he have to be so stubborn? Questions and time seemed to be Tifa's constant companions, and she was thoroughly tired of their company.

Resolve stiffening in her spine, she strode briskly into the only other room of the tiny cabin that the group had rented during their investigation of Icicle Inn.

Having finally achieved a numb stupor, Barret snored loudly in a small puddle of drool on the table. It was a moment or two before his drowsy brain registered the presence of another person in the room, and even longer before he realized that it was practically flying over the furniture, slamming cupboards and stuffing provisions into a knapsack with the speed of a wildcat.

Much worse than a wildcat, Barret confirmed once his vision cleared. "Hey, hey!" he shouted thickly, trying to brush off the effects of a pounding headache induced by alcohol and literal pounding. Tifa was just sliding into her winter cloak when Barret rushed out of his chair and grabbed her wrist.

"Yo shadow-man, she's tryin' to escape!"

Vincent slowly opened one eye for the simple pleasure of watching the scene unfold before him. Barret was staggering around the room, rushing and tripping over pieces of furniture while Tifa leapt clear of the table and sprang out the door. With a sigh, Vincent left his warm little corner and dashed out into the pitch-black of the night after her.

He caught her easily, just outside the threshold. His grip fastened like a vice around her wrist. She tugged and whirled around, giving Vincent one of her most lethal "Glares-Of-Death." Vincent, the King of Glaring himself, couldn't resist a tiny wince– Tifa was definitely a glaring pro.

"Let me go, Vincent!" she yelled. "I have to find him!"

"Not right now," he answered in his trademark monotone. "I can sense your trepidation, and it blinds you even more than the darkness and the driving snow."

"Vince is right, Teef," Barret said as he slumped against the door frame, still panting from the sudden exertion of falling over a footstool. "It's not that we don't want to help, or that we want to keep you caged up in here, but it just ain't the right time..."

"Time? _Time_!" Tifa yelled, growing more wild with frustration the longer she was being held in place. "You give me _time_ and I'll make sure that Cloud is back here safe again!"

Barret let out a long, exaggerated sigh. He hated explaining things.

"Tifa, you don't make no damn sense, girl. You've got a smart head on yo' shoulders, now think about this a minute." Barret took a deep breath and pointed a finger at Tifa.

"Fast you might be, but there ain't nothin' short of a sleigh ride from Santa that's gonna get you up that mountain in this blizzard. As if the damned snow wasn't enough, it's the goddamned middle of the _night_, so I suggest you get your skinny white ass into bed and then we _all_ gonna haul ass up there in the morning and drag that dumbass Spike back down here by his hair, okay?"

Tifa's mouth gaped slightly during Barret's proclamation, and Vincent once again shared a private smile with himself. Sometimes, all the world needed was someone like Barret to tell it to just "Sidownanshu'up."

Tifa knew he was right, she didn't even need his blatant pronunciation of the stupidity of trying to find Cloud right then, but her feelings had gotten the better of her. While her mind rationally reminded her of the practicality of waiting, her heart rammed against her rib cage in a mad jog up that mountainside. Sense might have won this battle, but her heart would burst before it lost the war.

"BRRR!" Barret suddenly exclaimed, hopping up and down and wrapping his arms around himself. "It is _damn_ cold out here. Can we just get one goddamn good night of sleep?"

He turned around and went back in-doors, followed shortly by Vincent after he had sent a knowing glance toward Tifa. She nodded numbly, and dragged her feet back into the house.

- -

Cloud was not aware of when the shrieking stopped, or if it even had, considering the ringing in his ears. He did know that he was lying with his face to the floor, judging by the angle of things, and that he could not feel his body.

He tried to shake the double vision from his eyes, but had the odd sensation that he didn't even have a head to shake. Alarmed, he opened his mouth to scream. He succeeded in creating a tiny, rasping squeak, but the relief of finding some small assurance that he had a body to make that sound with was rewarding enough.

He was able to slowly blink his eyes as he tried to survey his situation. He was still in the ice cave where he had encountered that wretched shrieking creature, but it was nowhere in sight. His years in the military had taught hard lessons, however, and he knew that the moment you thought your enemy to be vanquished was the very moment that you had to be the most wary.

Realizing that he would get no cooperation from his stiff body, Cloud closed his eyes, listening very intently. His Mako-enhanced senses pricked up as he concentrated, mentally feeling and searching the world around him.

A shuffling sound, behind and to the left.

"Wretched...wicked little creatures... Intruding in my home, corrupting ... their filthy burning touch..."

Cloud's eyes squeezed tightly as he willed himself to move. If only he could get some feeling back into his limbs...

"Show them... Purify in a white shroud of frozen beauty... Wretched mammals will suffer, I'll show them..."

Fingers, thumbs, toes, the tip of his nose, anything...

"And _this_ one... Kill it first, it tried to use the greatest transgression of its kind... It shall be punished most severely..."

"RRRRAAAHHH!"

Cloud shouted in exertion and succeeded in rolling his body over so that he was staring at the cave ceiling. The menacing voice also screamed in surprise, but not the piercing, mind-stunning screech as before; it was a feral cry of surprise.

"You!" It bellowed indignantly as Cloud rocked himself back and forth, trying to induce some blood flow in his frozen body.

"You wield the foul essence of the fire demon, Ifrit!" it cried. "You obscene vermin! How dare you approach me!"

Before Cloud could glance out of the corner of his eye, he was suddenly introduced to the ceiling as his body rose from the ground and collided with the opposite wall. Dazed, but definitely feeling the prickling sensation of pain from the impact, Cloud looked down and found himself floating in the air. Below him stood the creature in blue. An ethereal light glowed around its outstretched hands as its cruel eyes glared up at him. Following the sharp motion of the creature's arms falling down, Cloud too crashed back to the Planet.

Now fervently wishing that he could go back to not feeling a thing, Cloud winced in pain. The monster stood over him, peering down at him from behind the folds of its robe.

"A curse!" it cried. "A curse upon the transgressor who dare approach me! May your cruel heart be frozen and stifled, never to feel the warmth of life again!"

Cloud screamed, his body contorting with pain such as he had never felt. It was like ice being driven into every vein, freezing him as thoroughly as if he had fallen into a frozen lake. His cries went on into the night until he knew no more.

**- - -**

**Disclaimer**: I did not create/publish/sell _Final Fantasy VII_, its characters, locations, plots, etc. It all belongs to Squaresoft.


	3. Chapter Three

- - -

Heart Of Ice

Chapter Three

- - -

Tifa suddenly opened her eyes as if she had just been shaken awake, although there was nothing to wake her except her own anxiety. She lay a hand over her beating heart and closed her eyes, trying to organize her racing thoughts.

Cloud was still missing. That meant she had to find him. Simple enough, but try to tell that to her prison wardens...

- - -

Vincent held his breath for the hundredth time as Barret nearly gagged himself with a particularly loud snore, an immense shudder which shook and threatened to dislodge the large man from his perch atop the mounds of furniture blocking Tifa's bedroom doorway. After last night's near-escape, Barret had piled everything from chairs to toilet paper in front of Tifa's doorway to prevent another attempt. He lay now with one leg propped up on a stool and his head resting on a salt shaker, sawing away.

Wide open for a swift tummy-poke, Vincent thought with a quiet snicker. He surveyed the scene from his shadowy corner of the room, sipping his morning coffee and contemplating waking up the sleeping bear before him before it got bowled over by the tornado that was quickly gathering in strength behind him.

Sure enough, the door behind Barret shook violently, making the salt shaker slip out from underneath his head, which smacked the wooden table.

"RRRAAAAAHHHH!" Barret bellowed as he jumped up, shaking himself awake. Fully prepared for a steady stream of cuss words, Vincent braced himself with a slight wince. Amazingly, Barret turned to him with a grin.

"Well, do ya reckon it's about time we let out the search party?"

- - -

An hour and a half later, Tifa dug her fingers into the frozen crust of the glacier. The snow was hard and packed from years of undisturbed accumulation, but last night's blizzard had dusted the mountain with loose snow that made for extremely slippery footing over the ancient ice.

Vincent took the point position with his agility and keen senses leading the way. His clawed arm served as well as any ice pick as he stabbed through the ice mercilessly, forging a path. Tifa followed not far behind, her mountaineering skills not betraying her. Barret lagged in the rear, his large, bulky feet ill-adapted to finding the small crevices in the ice.

"Damn, man," he panted. "Don't know why... damn mountain gotta be... so damn high..."

Tifa smiled to herself, relishing the fresh mountain air. It was actually a very beautiful day, the sun was shining and the sky was blue. She just knew that everything was going to be alright, that Cloud had just set up camp here waiting for the blizzard to subside and that once she reached that summit, she'd see his smiling face as if he had been waiting for her.

"Hey Tifa," he'd casually say. "What took you so long?"

"Yo Tifa? What's taking you so long?"

Tifa shook her head, disengaging herself from her daydreaming as Barret shouted right behind her. She heaved herself up onto the next ledge and extended a hand to help haul Barret up. Vincent was gazing upward at the summit, not 60 yards away.

Barret lay sprawled in the snow after he reached the ledge. Tifa stood up and walked over to Vincent.

"Well Vincent? Do you think he's up there?"

"...Yes, he definitely did come this way, but..."

"But? You don't think he's there anymore?"

"No... he could still be there, but that would mean..."

Tifa waited for him to finish his sentence, but the red eyes just stared silently upward. Tifa was suddenly panicked.

"What do you mean? You think... you can't think he's..."

"I sense something above us, something powerful and magical... something definitely not human," Vincent said softly, his eyes narrowing.

"And if," he continued, "if that is what I think it is, then Cloud would not have allowed it to live."

Vincent looked at Tifa's pale face as she stared forward at the wall of ice, not seeing anything.

"Do you understand, Tifa?"

She looked at him, scared but determined. She nodded once, and then walked up to the cliff and grasped for a footing.

As she began to scale the last length of the glacier, Vincent looked down to where Barret was still lying. Barret rolled over and waved his arm weakly at Vincent, as if he were a mortally wounded soldier heroically waving away assistance.

"You... go on..." he said with an overly-exaggerated wince. "I... I'll hold down the fort here..."

Vincent rolled his eyes before turning on his heel and leaping nimbly onto a shelf of ice, jabbing his left arm into the solid mountainside on his climb after Tifa.

The wind had started to pick up, and the once clear blue sky began to rapidly fill with grey clouds. Tifa was not surprised, knowing how quickly the weather could change in a mountain climate. She did not take much notice to the newly biting wind as she determinedly crunched the frozen ice beneath her fingers.

Finally, Tifa could no longer see the tip of the mountain. She flung her arm over the next ledge and found the ice incredibly smooth, as if it were the polished marble floor of a palace. She heaved her body onto it, and saw a cave opening before her. Icicles as thick as tree trunks hung from the mouth of the cave, which appeared eerily lit as if from a light within. Not pausing for Vincent to catch up to her, Tifa marched straight into the cave, certain the Cloud was waiting just inside.

She looked up at the solid ice stalactites descending from the ceiling of the cave, sharp and lethal like swords of Damocles suspended precariously above her head. Running her hand along the smooth solid ice walls, Tifa was mesmerized by the natural beauty of the cave. Or was it natural? The arches between walls of glassy ice were like hand-carved diamonds, and the many dagger-like icicles were a beautiful array of prisms, reflecting the light from an unknown source and bouncing rainbows along the polished mirror-like walls of the cavern.

Gazing around at the beauty of the ice palace, Tifa became momentarily entranced and stood staring, unaware of anything but the beautiful colors and shapes around her. In the back of her mind, however, a growing sense of unease nagged that she was not alone. Sensing movement behind her, she spun around, right into a very solid, tall dark wall that had not been there before. Stunned at the unexpected impact, she looked up into the wall's flaring crimson eyes which always seemed to be set in anger.

"Vincent!" She gasped. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"...I am sorry, Tifa..." he said in his deep voice, muffled by the red shroud that covered his mouth.

"You must be careful," he continued. "This place is no ordinary cave. Remember the reason Cloud came here to begin with, to slay the wicked Ice Witch. This is her home, and it is undoubtably enchanted."

Tifa nodded numbly, a flush rising to her cheeks as she was embarrassed of her carelessness. She had been so absorbed that she had even momentarily forgotten her purpose in this cave to begin with, to find Cloud.

Vincent had drawn his gun and was now staring down the icy corridor, where the mysterious light seemed to shine brighter. Tifa took a deep breath and readjusted her gloves, determined to not let Cloud down by falling victim to the magic of this place. She wondered if perhaps that was what had happened to him, that he had gotten lost within the reflecting walls and become hypnotized.

Vincent gave a curt nod to Tifa before creeping silently down the corridor. She wondered how he could be so quiet, even with those pointy metal shoes of his. The rubber soles of her own shoes made a squeaking noise against the ice floor, and she winced with every step.

At the end of the long corridor, Vincent stopped right before the wall took a sudden turn. Tifa stopped and watched as he peered around the corner. His rigid and crouched body suddenly straightened, and he stepped fully into view of the next cavern. Tifa supposed that this meant that there was nothing in the next room to worry about.

She stepped beyond the wall and began to follow Vincent into the room, but was suddenly seized with terror when her eyes found the figure lying in the middle of the room.

Vincent rushed quickly to Cloud's side and kneeled to check for a pulse. Tifa abandoned all grace and sprinted to where he lay, her boots sliding over the glassy floor. His body was completely stiff, his hair and clothes encrusted with ice. Tifa immediately cast an extremely weak Fire spell, holding it up to his face. His lips were blue, and his eyelashes were nearly white with flecks of frozen condensation. Frightened, Tifa glanced up at Vincent, whose eyes were once again narrowed in an unreadable expression.

"Vincent, is he..?" She whispered, unwilling to say the words.

"Very weak, but not dead yet," he said quickly. "Hypothermia could kill him if we don't get him warm soon. Dim that spell and rub the heat against his skin."

Tifa did as she was told, dimming the Fire spell to a warm orange glow between her hands. She touched Cloud's face and immediately recoiled, feeling as though she had just been pricked with needles.

"His skin!" she exclaimed. "It's so cold, it stings!"

Vincent opened his mouth to reply, but at that moment, a deafening screech resounded through the cave. It sounded like a million women were screaming in pain, the discordant pitches piercing the cold air like knives. Tifa and Vincent covered their ears in pain as the sound waves broke icicles above their heads and split the glassy walls apart.

"It's going to cave in!" yelled Vincent.

He hoisted Cloud's frozen body from the floor and began to run for the exit. Tifa ran after him, narrowly dodging the falling icicle shards that had shattered in the cacophony.

Tifa ran, ice crunching like broken glass beneath her boots. She rounded a corner sharply and glimpsed Vincent running though the cavern opening to the outside. She sprinted after him, stumbling over the rifts that were carving through the ice floor beneath her and avoiding the falling pillars of stalactites. She was sure her ears must be bleeding with the shriek of that demon-esque voice, but she could still hear the cave collapsing all around her.

Suddenly, blocking her escape path was a robed figure framed by the light from the outside. Tifa felt as though her head was exploding as the shriek increased in pitch. She fell to her knees, her eyes blinded with white-hot pain.

The sound was so intense, so painful, it completely consumed her. There was no longer the sound of ice splintering and the collapsing cave; there was no sound at all. Only a voice reached her as she blacked out– a cold and cruel rasp, and nearly inaudible as she sank into unconsciousness.

"...Seek... beyond the ice... your life... as frozen as his heart..."

- - -

**Disclaimer**: I did not create/publish/sell _Final Fantasy VII_, its characters, locations, plots, etc. It all belongs to Squaresoft.


	4. Chapter Four

- - -

Heart Of Ice

Chapter Four

- - -

Tifa bolted upright at the sound of a high-pitched screeching noise, her heart suddenly racing. She covered her ears and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Make it stop, please, just make it stop already..." she whimpered to herself, drawing her knees up to her chest as if she could physically protect herself from pain racking through her mind. She had passed out in the cave as the Ice Witch shrieked her deadly voice, causing a cave-in. Was she still there? Had her friends abandoned her?

Suddenly, the shrill noise stopped. Tifa cautiously lifted her head and took in her surroundings. She had been laying on a couch, next to a crackling fire where Vincent had just pulled a steaming kettle out of the fireplace. He watched her silently for a moment, taking in her tear-streaked face and shaking hands. He walked to a nearby table and began to pour hot water from the kettle into tea cups.

"I am most sorry, Tifa," he said quietly, his back to her as he worked. As she returned to reality, she realized that she was in the living room of the cabin, and that the shrieking noise had been the hot kettle.

"I did not mean to wake you," he continued. "I meant to take the water off the fire before you woke."

"What... happened?" Tifa asked cautiously, rubbing her temples as a headache started throbbing behind her eyes. "I remember the cave collapsing, and that God-awful screeching sound, and..."

Tifa's head snapped up, her eyes wide with fear.

"Cloud!"

- - -

It was a few moments before Cloud became aware that he was staring at a different ceiling than before. It was a blurry, brownish-orange color instead of a blurry, bluish-white. So he wasn't in the cave anymore. Whoopdeedo.

He still couldn't feel his legs or move his fingers, or any other part of him for that matter, and that was all that he really cared about right now. He supposed that orangish glow came from a warm fire somewhere nearby, but obviously not near enough for his benefit. He still felt as frozen as when he had first collapsed in that cave.

No, maybe not as cold as the first time. This felt much worse. Somehow, and he couldn't really explain it, but he felt inwardly cold, as if that Ice Hag had stabbed his chest with an icicle and left a hole where his heart had been...

He gasped, his brain sending fruitless signals to his fingers to clutch at his chest and feel a heart beat, just to assure himself that it was still there. His startled gasp triggered movement in the corner of the room, and a great bulkly figure lumbered toward where Cloud lay. Cloud felt sure that if he had a pulse, it would be racing now as the shape neared.

As the figure approached, its features became more defined to Cloud's blurry vision, although he did not need perfect sight to distinguish the familiar face.

"Barret," he managed to croak with a weak twinge of a smile. Barret managed to muster up his own version of a smile, but it was half-hearted at best. It was hard to smile at your best friend when you knew he was dying.

Barret wrung hot water out of a small wash cloth and re-applied it to Cloud's chest, watching the hissing steam rise from its contact with his skin once again. Despite all their efforts since they had brought him down from the lair of the Ice Witch, Cloud's body remained frozen, as if he were carved of ice.

"Barret," Cloud said, his smile vanishing. He could feel Barret's hands shaking as the older man massaged Cloud's arm, trying to stimulate blood flow in the paralyzed limb. "Barret," he repeated, stronger now. "What's wrong with me?"

Barret sighed and looked sadly into Cloud's eyes. This was the last thing in the world he wanted to talk about.

"Cloud..." he began huskily, blinking fast. "Cloud you're... damn man, I'm sorry but..." Barret swallowed hard and shook his head. "But you're-"

"Cloud!"

The door to the bedroom burst open and Tifa flew in. Cloud managed to tilt his head slightly to watch her rush to his side. All at once he was certain that he still had a heart, as he felt it pounding throughout his whole body as it always did when Tifa was near him. She was smiling though tears as she kneeled beside the bed that he was lying on, and he couldn't help but smile back at the woman who was so happy she would cry.

"Oh Cloud," her voice strained as she struggled to speak without sobbing. "I was so worried when you didn't come down from that mountain, and then to see you lying there like you were..."

Vincent stepped quietly into the room after her and gave Barret a meaningful look. Barret nodded and cleared his throat.

"Okay, listen you two," Barret began on a brave front. He really, really didn't want to have to do this.

"Cloud ain't outta the woods yet," he said gravely. "His body temperature ain't rising, and he's slippin' into hypothermia as we speak."

"But..." Tifa asked, puzzled. "He's out of the cold now, his body should be warming up now, shouldn't it?"

"The Ice Witch," Vincect said quietly from his shadowy corner. "It isn't natural, you're right, Tifa. He should be returning to normal, but his body remains frozen, as if he were still lying in that cave."

"Are you saying," Cloud spoke in a ragged whisper, "that this is some sort of spell?"

"Something like that," Vincent agreed.

"Well, they don't call her the Ice Witch for nothing, huh?" mused Barret.

"But," Tifa started, still tearful. "There must be some way to reverse it, right? I mean, if he just stays like this..."

Vincent looked around the room at the worried faces of his comrades. "...He will die."

Tifa's large, maroon eyes flashed up in anger at Vincent. "How can you say that!" she demanded. "We haven't even searched for a cure! We don't know that it will kill him! We don't know anything about it!"

"Yo..." Barret began, an idea forming on the tip of his tongue. "We do know one thing about it– whatever happened, it happened in that cave."

"Go back to the source, find the solution?" Vincent offered.

"You think if we defeat that witch, it will break the spell?" Barret scratched the stubble on his chin.

"It seems to work in just about every other fairy tale," Vincent sighed wearily.

"But..." Tears started to well up in Tifa's eyes again. "What if by killing her, we destroy the last chance at a cure?"

"You mean, what if she has to willingly reverse it?" Vincent's eyes narrowed into his "thinking" glare. As pensive as he appeared, Vincent preferred the "hack-and-slash" solution rather than negotiating his way around it.

There was a heavy silence in the room for a few moments, punctuated only by Tifa's sniffling. Finally, Cloud spoke:

"I remember..." he rasped, closing his eyes as if it could jog his memory. "When she was screaming and cursing at me, she said something about my heart... being frozen... "

He opened one eye to look at Tifa, and managed a weak version of his typical cocky smile. "You think maybe I need a new heart?"

"Maybe just some good old fashioned electro-shock therapy..." said Barret with a wiley smile.

"But..." Tifa said thoughtfully. "I remember what she said to me, too..."

"She said something?" Vincent asked in a moment of rare curiosity. "I don't remember hearing anything but that mad shrieking. What did she say?"

Tifa blushed as she always did when something even remotely connected her romantically to Cloud. "She said that my life was 'frozen like him,' too, but I'm not cold or anything..." Barret raised an eyebrow as Tifa trailed off, hoping no one was thinking any dirty thoughts about her "warming Cloud up." Finally, Barret got the hint and forced a very obvious cough.

"Why don' we jus' sleep on it for tonight, eh?" the big man said as he stood up and stretched. "Cloud ain't going no where, an' that Ice Hag ain't around, so there ain't much we can do for now anyway."

"...Barret's right," Vincent said, shooting a sideways glance at the daft, larger man. "As hopeless as that sounds, there is nothing more we can do tonight. Let us begin afresh in the promise of a new day."

The two men started toward the door. Tifa sat still with her hands in her lap and her head bowed, unable to look at Cloud on what could be his death bed. She could hear Barret's and Vincent's voices as they faded into the next room–

"Damn, man. Why you gotta spout that poetic mumbo-jumbo all the time. You sound like a reverend at a memorial service."

"That may not be so out of place, considering..."

The door shut behind them, sparing Cloud and Tifa any more grim prophecies. If he heard their dire foreshadowing at all, Cloud appeared unconcerned. Instead he tried once again to shift his frozen body to get a better look at Tifa.

"Hey, Teef..."

Tifa shook her head, squeezing her eyes and lips shut. "No, Cloud. Don't listen to them. I know... that there has to be a way... to help..." She swallowed very hard, trying to choke down a fresh wave of sobs. She hated being so weak, especially in front of Cloud.

"Actually Teef," rasped Cloud, his smile strengthening as he looked at her, "I was going to ask you for some more blankets."

Tifa gave a short burst of a nervous laugh, unable to hold back her tears even as she smiled. "I think you've got every one in the house," she said gamely, wiping her cheeks with the back of one gloved hand.

Cloud stared at her for a few moments, watching the fire light reflect off her tear-welled eyes. That Ice Hag didn't make any sense. How could his heart be frozen when it felt everything but when he looked at the woman sitting beside him?

"Tifa..." he whispered, his voice cracking from a knot forming in his throat. "You don't think I'd give up so easily, do you?"

"No, Cloud, but I just..."

"I don't know what's going to happen to me, but..." he trailed off, unsure if he was ready to say what was on his mind. "I think... as long as you're here, I'll be fine."

Tifa looked at him for a moment, her eyes wide and frightened. "I don't know... if I have that much power, Cloud. I want to help you so much, but I'm so scared..."

Cloud struggled to reach his hand out to comfort her, but his frozen muscles seized up at the effort. He grimaced, and Tifa grabbed the now cold wash cloth that Barret had been repeatedly heating and walked over to the hot water kettle. After soaking it to a scalding temperature again, she carried it to Cloud, preparing to massage some warmth back into the near-lifeless bicep.

The moment her skin made contact with his own, Cloud felt something surge through his entire body, as if a bucket of warm water had just been thrown over him. He gasped, and she started, pulling her hand away from him.

"Tifa!"

"Oh! Cloud, I'm sorry! Is it too hot? I wasn't thinking..."

"When you touched me..." Cloud braced himself as the cold flooded back into his veins. When she removed her hand, the warmth fled from his body and he shuddered.

"Did you feel it?"

"Feel what, Cloud?"

"The warmth... When you touched me, you were... so warm..."

Tifa looked at him curiously. "Couldn't you feel the warm cloth before? Barret was using it..."

"Yes! I mean, no, it's not the cloth..." Cloud struggled to keep his teeth from chattering.

"T... touch me again, Tifa."

"Cloud, I– "

"Please, Tifa..."

Tifa warily stretched out her right hand and placed it delicately on Cloud's arm. She felt the stinging pain of contact with his frozen skin, but watched him as he closed his eyes and sighed in relief.

"Cloud? Are you... okay?" Tifa asked, a little worried.

"...Yeah, yeah... I'm fine... now."

Tifa watched in amazement as Cloud lifted his right arm easily, without the frozen stiffness of before, and placed his hand over hers. He looked at her with a warm smile that held none of the strain he had shown before.

"Tifa," he said, squeezing her hand. "I think you're the cure."

- - -

**Disclaimer**: I did not create/publish/sell _Final Fantasy VII_, its characters, locations, plots, etc. It all belongs to Squaresoft.


	5. Chapter Five

- - -

Heart Of Ice

Chapter Five

- - -

"Cloud, I don't underst–"

"There's nothing to understand!" Cloud smiled as he clutched her hand, feeling the warmth spread from her fingertips to his. "You touched me, and I can breathe and move again!"

"But, why?" Tifa nearly whimpered. Cloud's excitement seemed feverish, and the stinging cold of his skin was starting to make her hand numb.

"It doesn't matter why!" he said happily. "It just works, and..."

He trailed off as he watched her, and his smile started to fade into worry. She looked scared and winced a little in pain, and then he noticed that her hands were shaking.

"Tifa, what's wrong?" He asked concernedly. He reached up with his other hand to touch her face, but she involuntarily jerked back.

"C, Cloud, I'm so sorry, I, I didn't mean to..." Tifa stammered, shaking with the chill of his touch.

Cloud looked at his hand that still held hers, and then let go. His body suddenly seized up and he choked on the warm air he had just been breathing. His muscles twitched painfully as the cold rushed upon him again, as if he had just fallen through the ice of a frozen lake.

Alarmed, Tifa screamed and pressed her hands to his chest in an attempt to hold his convulsions down, and he gasped again.

"What the hell is goin' on in here?" Barret yelled as he burst through the door, Vincent in tow. They stared at the scene before them– Cloud gasping for air and Tifa standing over him, her hands on his neck.

"We heard you scream, Tifa..." Vincent said after a moment of silence. "Is something the matter?"

Cloud relaxed against the bed, taking deep breaths as the shuddering subsided. His body couldn't take the sudden switches from freezing to burning. Tifa's hands were still on him, and he instinctively reached for them and grasped her wrists tightly. Tifa whimpered before she could suppress it, but Barret was staring at Cloud and didn't notice.

"Cloud, you're sweatin' bullets, man." He walked over to the bed and pressed his palm to Cloud's forehead. "Damn! And you're warm, too!" He smiled shrewdly and winked at Tifa. "Just what were you two up to in here?"

Vincent, on the other hand, was silently watching Tifa and her efforts to hide winces of pain. He looked from her bitten lip to Cloud's hands holding hers for dear life and began to understand.

"Cloud, let her go," he said quietly, moving toward the bed.

"N, no..." Cloud whispered, squeezing his eyes shut as he held her tighter still.

"LET HER GO!" Vincent bellowed, grabbing Cloud's wrists with both his human and clawed hands. Cloud cried out in pain again and Vincent felt the younger man's hands seize up and freeze beneath his own.

"So it seems..." Vincent murmured.

"No!" Tifa screamed. "It's hurting him again!" She quickly went under Vincent's arms which still held Cloud's hands and she reached for his face. She rubbed her thumb over his lips and cheekbone as he gasped for life again.

Barret watched as Tifa's tears mixed with the thawing drops of sweat on Cloud's forehead and trickled down his face.

"You're hurting her," Barret murmured in sudden understanding. Cloud's eyes were still squeezed shut as he feverishly shook his head. He was in shock from the sudden temperature changes and acted like a man in the throes of a high fever, falling in and out of reality. He pulled his hands away from Vincent and wrapped his arms around Tifa, who was lying on his chest. She squeezed her own eyes shut against the pain and pressed her face to his skin, feeling its stinging cold bite at her flesh.

"But _she's_ hurting him," Vincent replied thoughtfully. "Every time she pulls away, it nearly kills him."

"So what's she supposed to do, huh?" Barret cried angrily. "Just lay there and take it? It's wrong, man. She shouldn't have to do this."

"If she doesn't, Cloud will die," Vincent said bluntly. "If anything, it is only pain for her, but life and death for him."

"That ain't true, man," Barret said, his anger ebbing away. "Maybe it's transferrin' the cold to her, and takes her warmth to him, you know?"

"Perhaps..." Vincent contemplated. "That does seem to be the effect of the spell, but why only Tifa?"

"What do you mean?" Barret asked, looking back at where Cloud and Tifa lay silently, Cloud stroking her hair while her fingers continued their rhythmic stroking over his face. They looked peaceful enough.

"It only works when Tifa touches him," Vincent continued. "You touched him earlier, when you were trying to make him warmer, and I just touched him moments ago. He is only alive when she is near."

"So you think that damned Ice Ho enchanted them both?" Barret said, scratching the stubble on his chin.

"Yes." Vincent said definitively. "The spell made some kind of connection between them, or..." Vincent paused, realization dawning on him. "Or perhaps it was created because of a _previously_ existing bond..."

Barret stared at Vincent blankly as the cloaked man began to pace.

"Cloud said that the witch told him something," he went on quickly. "What was it he said? Something about his heart being frozen, well that was certainly literal enough..." He paced some more and then stopped abruptly. "Then Tifa said that the witch told her something as well, something only to her... something about 'her life being frozen like him,' or maybe _without_ him..." Vincent looked over to where the woman lay slumped over Cloud, who was now sleeping peacefully. Tifa hadn't tried to move, though she was most definitely awake.

"Tifa," Vincent walked over to her and kneeled next to the bed near her face. She watched him expressionlessly, but wrapped her arms closer around Cloud.

"Leave him alone," she said in a choked whisper. "If I can help him, I will. I don't care what happens to me."

"I know that, Tifa," Vincent said softly, feeling a strange twinge of familiar pain in his heart that he thought he had long since forgotten. He realized that watching her there, defending the man she loved even though it hurt her reminded him of another beautiful woman who had sacrificed herself through pain for love. He swallowed hard and shook the painful memories from his head. That was not going to happen again. He reached out with his human hand and stroked Tifa's long dark hair that glowed auburn in the firelight.

"You need to help him," he told her. She nodded, listening. "The Ice Witch, she told you... she must have said something more about you and Cloud..."

"She..." Tifa closed her eyes and remembered. "She told me that... my life... was as 'frozen as his heart'... and 'to look beyond the ice'..."

Vincent nodded. "You understand, don't you?" He stood up and looked over the couple. Tifa was still looking at him. She nodded.

"It's up to you, Tifa... No, both of you..." Vincent corrected himself as he started toward the door. "You both have to 'seek beyond the ice.' The threat of the Snow Witch seems to have gone for now, as the blizzard has subsided. The rest is up to you two."

Vincent silently walked out the door, leaving a very confused Barret in his wake. The giant man shook his head and decided not to ask questions, since all this enchantment business was stupid and he didn't know what the hell was going on anyway. He finally decided to follow Vincent's cue and go into the other room and have more of that hot whiskey than play mind games with riddles back here.

"Okay, Teef, you heard the man," he said with a nod to her. She nodded silently back. "You patch things up here or whatever, and I'll go get drunk in the other room." He winked at her before exiting the room and closing the door behind him.

Now that the only sounds in the room were the crackling of the fire and Cloud's deep, steady breathing, Tifa felt suddenly terrified. Her heart thudded hard in her chest at the prospect of what she had to do. She had to tell Cloud... how she felt.

"'Beyond the ice,'" she thought to herself. "The ice... of our own self-consciousness, our fear... anything standing between us... I have to finally..."

This moment that she had been avoiding for so long because she was so terrified to broach her comfortable limit. No matter how aggravating the distance had been, it was much preferred to this intensity, the making or the breaking...

Tifa squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. "This is not a selfish matter anymore! This isn't about my own feelings anymore! This is for his life, his happiness..." She sat up a little, careful to keep contact as she slid her arms from around his body until only her fingertips were grazing his chest. He stirred and a frown creased his peaceful face, and his arms tried to find their grip around her waist again as he slept.

"Even if... he doesn't feel the same way..." Tifa murmured to herself as she watched him. "It's only the barrier we have to overcome. Mine will be the confession, his will be... the... the..." Acceptance or rejection? She wondered. Tifa swallowed hard. She didn't like feeling so vulnerable.

But the time had come. Her fingers were so numb they had stopped shaking and she could only tell she was touching him by the fact that she could see him so peaceful. She leaned closer to him, carefully, as if she were trying to avoid disturbing the air around his face that would wake him up, and she kissed him. Her lips lingered on his, feeling his warm breath on her skin. She pressed lightly before pulling back and found his eyes watching her intently.

Tifa desperately wanted to look away, to pretend like she hadn't just done that and could go back to blissful obscurity again. She almost forgot herself in her wave of embarrassment and got up to leave, but Cloud grasped her hands and held her as she half-stood, half-sat over his bed.

"O, oh," Tifa stammered, unable to look at Cloud. "I, I'm sorry, I almost forgot. I didn't mean to leave..."

"Tifa," Cloud said quietly, eyes still watching her intently. He had just woken up to her kissing him, and he had to make sure that he wasn't still dreaming. "Tifa, look at me..."

Tifa slowly turned her head, her eyes wide with fear as they met Cloud's piercingly blue stare. She was surprised to see the soft, concerned look on his face as he tugged at her hands, motioning for her to sit down again. She gently positioned herself as far on the edge of the bed as possible, and looked away again.

Cloud sat up, the blankets falling off of his bare chest to his waist. He didn't stop looking at her, even when she refused to look at him. He watched as she closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip– a nervous habit that she'd had since they were kids. He looked quickly to where he held her hands and saw that they were pale and ice cold in his own warm hands. He remembered again what he was doing to her, and he loosened his grip.

"Tifa," he began softly, keeping his gaze on her frozen hands. "I, I'm sorry for doing this to you. It... must be hurting you."

"No, Cloud," Tifa shook her head but still couldn't look at him. "I'm fine. This is for your own good."

"Then why won't you look at me?" he nearly pleaded.

Tifa couldn't think of anything to say. The desperation in his voice... Did he have any idea of how she felt? She slowly lifted her head and met his gaze. He looked hurt and concerned, and opened his mouth to say something but closed it again and swallowed.

This was it, Tifa thought to herself as her heart beat madly in her chest. He's going to say it, he's trying to think of how to let me down without hurting me, because we're just good friends and nothing more...

"I'm sorry!" they said at once. Tifa just stared at him as Cloud continued.

"I'm sorry, Tifa, to put you through all this..." Cloud said, now unable to look at her as his gaze rested on a fold in the blanket. He looked sad but determined, and Tifa watched him in fear.

"It's just that... I'm scared to let go." Cloud shook his head, angry with himself. "I feel horrible, forcing you to hold on to me and it's only hurting you for my own gain." His eyes suddenly set in determination of what he would say next.

"I need your help to do this, though." He looked up at her then, catching her off-guard with the sudden intensity of the sadness burning in his eyes. "I can't go on like this. Just... just tell me to, and I'll let go..."

"Cloud, no!" Tifa nearly cried as she gripped his hands tighter. "You can't! You'll die!"

"What else can I do, Tifa?" Cloud asked her earnestly, just as desperate as she was. "If this is the only cure, then how can we go on living? I can't do this to you..."

"I don't care, Cloud!" Tears were running down her face again. "I'll hold on to you forever if I have to!"

She choked on a sob, realizing that this was the closest she could ever get to telling him how she felt, how she would give her life and happiness for him... Cloud reached up with one hand that Tifa still clutched and he brushed away a tear from her cheek. The cold felt like it burned through her flesh but she didn't try to move.

"I love you, Tifa," Cloud nearly whispered, his face inches from hers. "I love you enough to know that I have to let go."

His voice cracked and shook on his last words as he leaned back and let his fingers slip from her hands. His body went rigid and shook as the paralyzing cold enveloped him, stabbing shards of ice through his veins. All the warm breath rushed out of his lungs as they refused to expand again, as if they were filled with freezing water.

Tifa watched for one horrified moment that seemed an eternity as she was completely numb and unable to move. Suddenly, she reached out and threw her arms around his neck, kissing his mouth as if she could breathe life back into him.

"Cloud!" she cried. She was sobbing so hard she lost sense of the world around her. Everything was so numb and cold. Then, as if the tide had broken over her, she was enveloped in warmth. Strong arms surrounded her and pulled her out of her numb reverie. She came to her senses and saw Cloud smiling beneath her. He was holding her close to his chest as he lay on the bed, and was stroking her hair.

"Tifa," he said, warmth radiating from his face. "Tifa, you saved me."

Tifa hastily pulled herself up but kept one arm on his chest. Cloud smiled and sat up, pulling arms away from her. "No!" she cried and desperately threw her arms around his neck again. She buried her face against his neck as he laughed.

"Tifa! Don't worry!" he said, pulling her back in front of him. "Look."

He gently pushed her arms away, and when her shaking hand finally pulled back and hovered over his skin, she gasped and looked up at him. He was still smiling. "See? You've cured me."

"C, Cloud..." she stammered and tried to smile as she wiped away her tears. "You're really okay!"

"It was true, what that Ice Witch said," Cloud said as he reached up to brush Tifa's hair away from her face. "That my heart was frozen... You brought me to life."

Tifa swallowed hard as Cloud cupped her face in his hands. "I love you," he said. "I'm sorry that I waited until I thought I was dying to tell you that." He smiled sheepishly and looked away. "I was just... kinda worried that... you, know... that you wouldn't..." The heat radiating from his cheeks could have either been his de-thawing or his embarrassment as Cloud pulled his hands away. He scratched the back of his head like he always did when he was nervous. Tifa laughed a little and placed her own hands on his face.

"Cloud, I love you. I'm sorry that I waited until you said it first to tell you that." Cloud looked at her and smiled in relief.

"Whew!" he sighed contentedly as he wrapped his arms around her again. "After all this time, I feel like I can finally breathe again."

"Well," Tifa smiled softly, lightly stroking his face. "Hold your breath for just a little while longer..." And she leaned in to kiss him again.

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I did not create/publish/sell _Final Fantasy VII_, its characters, locations, plots, etc. It all belongs to Squaresoft. 


	6. Epilogue

* * *

Heart Of Ice

Epilogue

* * *

Tifa grinned in triumph as she pulled herself up onto the last ledge and turned to look down at her lagging companion.

"Make that Queen of the Mountain, _fifth_ year running!" she called down to him. Cloud only grimaced up at her while he struggled for footing on the slippery ice of the glacier.

"Alright your Highness, you win but just you wait 'til I get up there..."

Tifa stuck her tongue out at him as he heaved his leg onto the ledge. As he pulled himself up, she could see a decidedly mischievous grin on his face but was too late to notice the handful of snow he had scooped up.

"Cloud," she warned, backing up while he advanced on her, casually tossing and catching the snowball in his right hand. "Don't you dare throw that–"

Tifa ducked just as he flung the snowball at her. In one fell swoop she had a snowball of her own which she chucked at Cloud, who was hurriedly rebuilding his own ammunition. Her snowball hit him squarely in the rear end, leaving a round lump of white snow sticking to his pants. He yelped in surprise and turned to glare at her before rushing forward and tackling her in the snow.

"Thought that was funny, did you?" he said while tickling her ribs. Tifa laughed and tried to roll out of his reach, but he sat on her legs, effectively pinning her beneath him.

"Cloud! Get off me this instant or so help me I'll..."

"Or you'll what, Princess? Throw another snowball at my butt?" Cloud grinned as he held her shoulders to the ground. Tifa glared for only a moment before Cloud leaned down and kissed her, effectively banishing any thoughts of retaliation. Tifa felt herself smile as Cloud pulled away a few inches and she could feel the white clouds of his breath on her lips.

"Cloud..."

"What?" he murmured, leaning forward again to trail kisses down her jaw line. Tifa shivered, not entirely because she was lying with her back pressed into the snow.

"The... the Snow Witch, remember?" she managed to say, unwilling to end Cloud's gentle ministrations. Cloud reluctantly pulled away with a grimace.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot..." he said with distaste as he stood up. He offered his hand to Tifa, helping her to her feet.

"The sooner this is over..." she began, trying to console the sour look on Cloud's face. He sighed and plucked a chunk of snow from her hair.

"I know. I remember the whole 'virtuous virgin will defeat the evil Snow Goddess or whatever," he said dully. Tifa smiled and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"I'll make it up to you, I promise," she added with a wink. Cloud raised an eyebrow before pulling her close for another kiss.

"We waited this long; we can wait a little longer," he murmured before sealing the space between them. Several very warm moments later, they were interrupted by the soft sound of crumbling ice and snow behind them. Cloud sighed again and kissed Tifa lightly on the forehead before pulling away.

"We had better go," she agreed with his unspoken decision to move on. They turned toward the crumbling entrance of the cave behind them. Tifa nervously straightened her gloves– she was still unsure how they were going to fight this monster when they had already failed twice. She cast a furtive glance at Cloud, who was looking straight forward determinedly. His resolve strengthened her own.

"Do you have any idea what we're going to do?" Tifa whispered now as they picked their way around fallen stalactites and deep crevices in the ground. Cloud shook his head almost imperceptibly.

"We'll figure that out when we get there," he said, resting his hand gently on her back as they stepped carefully around a great mound of shattered ice. Cloud suddenly stopped.

"There she is," he said in a low voice. Tifa squinted into the distance. The cave was less like a palace maze after their last visit, and now that most of the walls had fallen, it looked like a wide, empty cave. Near the very back wall, Tifa thought she saw a huddled blue form.

"Ready?" he asked. Tifa nodded. Cloud stepped in front of her and drew his Buster Sword. As if sensing the sudden threat, the witch stirred from her position near the back wall.

"Filthy humans..." she muttered, though her voice carried to the end of the cave where Tifa and Cloud still stood. "I can feel the accursed heat of the fire demon Ifrit from over here. You'll pay for your trice transgression!"

Before Tifa could move, the witch had literally flown into action. She threw herself toward them in a sudden gale of ice and snow. Tifa shielded her face from the stinging wind, but Cloud had rushed forward and swung at the witch, cutting through the blinding gale. The witch easily evaded the Buster Sword, though the effort forced her to veer suddenly to the side. The precious seconds the witch used to right herself and turn around were all that Tifa needed.

Ducking around from behind Cloud, Tifa spread her arms wide. A soft, yellow light emitted in waves at her feet, and as Tifa drew her arms in to cast the spell, the witch opened her mouth threateningly. She began her high-pitched scream as Tifa shouted the words–

"HELL FIRE!"

A low, ominous growl shook the entire cave as the fire god appeared. The ice witch shrieked louder still as Ifrit breathed flames before her. A wide sphere of demonic fire encased the fire god before he rushed forward, straight into the witch. The collision erupted into a great explosion, and the witch's cry went from piercing to glass-shattering. Cloud and Tifa ducked, hands clapped over their ears while the backwash from the spell threw waves of heat over them.

Finally, Tifa dared to look up. Tiny flames still licked the ground in a line where Ifrit had rushed forward. There was a great black scorch mark in the wall behind where the Ice Witch last stood. It was all that remained of her.

"Well, that was easier than I thought," Cloud said finally as he stood and extended a hand to help Tifa to her feet.

"Yeah, considering all the trouble we went through before," Tifa added as she followed Cloud out of the cave. They stood on the ledge outside that provided a panoramic view of the tiny town of Icicle Inn below.

"Think the blizzards will stop now?" Tifa asked lightly.

"They'd better," Cloud said with a snort. "I'm not climbing up here again. They can find some other virgin to save the day." Tifa smiled with sudden inspiration.

"Hm, I beat you up the mountain _and_ my spell finished off the snow witch..." Tifa said playfully as she laced her arms around Cloud's waist. "Looks like you should have let _me_ go from the beginning after all!"

"And miss the chance to be forced to tell you how I feel?" Cloud made to look as though he were seriously pondering the issue. He smiled. "Not likely."

* * *

**A/N**: Woohoo! All done! I really liked this story, if I do say so myself. Even though it's finished, please review and let me know how I did. :)

**-P**

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I did not create/publish/sell _Final Fantasy VII_, its characters, locations, plots, etc. It all belongs to Squaresoft. 


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